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One day last November, the Indigenous leader Julia Chuñil called for her dog, her loyal pet, and ventured into the woods near her home to look for missing livestock. The animals came back but Julia, then aged 72, and her dog never reappeared.

More than 100 people participated with her relatives in a hunt lasting weeks in the rugged, rain-soaked and thickly vegetated landscape of the nation of Chile’s ancient Valdivian woodland. After a month, they monitored scavenger birds for any disturbing signs. However, they discovered no evidence of the missing woman.

Julia Chuñil is among 146 territorial and ecological defenders who were murdered or went missing globally last year, as reported by a study by the advocacy organization the monitoring entity. Roughly one-third of these cases, similar to her, were from Indigenous communities – a heavy toll for peoples who together make up only six percent of the global inhabitants.

Chuñil, a prominent figure of the Mapuche Indigenous community in Chile, was residing in contested land. Ten years ago she had settled in a protected forest area, a 900-hectare section of the ancient Valdivian forest 500 miles south of Santiago, which her community claimed as an historical territory.

She spent years campaigning to secure property titles over the location for her community. But the site’s nominal owner, the heir of settlers, refused to relinquish control. He wanted the area for timber extraction – the country serves as a significant supplier of wood to the US – and he wanted rid of the activist. Prior to her disappearance, Chuñil informed allies: “If anything happens to me, you already know who is responsible.”

Global Documentation on Attacks Against Defenders

The organization began recording incidents of deaths and vanishing acts of territorial and ecological defenders in the year 2012. From that point, it has gathered a total of two thousand two hundred fifty-three instances. Over the last ten years, the riskiest region has been Central and South America. In 2024 it represented 82% of reported incidents, which involved forty-five Indigenous people.

“Territorial disputes lies at the core of violence against defenders, and Indigenous peoples are paying the highest price,” said a senior policy adviser at the group. “Communities with historical ties to land often lead the resistance when their territories come under threat from exploitation and encroachment. However, regardless of their vital role, they are often refused recognition and justice, and exposed to grave danger for defending their legitimate territories.”

Nation-Specific Data and Unrecorded Cases

Chuñil’s was the sole incident documented in her nation during that period, even though it fitted a trend of the singling out of Mapuche advocates in the country. The nation of Colombia reported 48 instances, making it the most lethal nation overall for environmental defenders, then came the country of Guatemala with 20 cases, the deadliest nation by population. Mexico had nineteen cases, putting it in third place in the ranking.

Under-reporting continues to be a problem, particularly in the Asian continent and the African region, which registered sixteen and 9 cases respectively, Global Witness noted. In general, the previous year the lowest number of cases of murders and disappearances of land activists were documented for a decade.

Laura Furones, who conducted the investigation for the organization, commented: “I would also like to be able to tell you that this implies a decrease in violence and an improvement in the conditions for defenders, but sadly that’s not true. Rights advocates face realities of brutality that extend well past homicide. What violence often does is transform, grow more complex, change its face.”

Ongoing Fight for Accountability

Julia’s relatives have persisted in seeking legal resolution but their advocacy has exposed them to intimidation and harassment, too. In April, a pair of creatures from Chuñil’s home that they had intended to sell to fund court expenses were found killed, one murdered by gunfire and another by toxins. “This is primarily, a intentional effort to prevent us from pursuing this case,” her child Pablo San Martín told the watchdog.

The group’s report calls on governments to act to end the impunity of the perpetrators of environmental defenders by tackling the absence of rights activists have over property, strengthening ineffective domestic judiciary frameworks, and guaranteeing endangered advocates are given sufficient government security.

“All we are asking for is a comprehensive, impartial investigation to be conducted,” the son remarked of his parent’s situation. “Nearly twelve months have passed since she disappeared and we’re remain unaware about the events. We want the responsible parties to be discovered and prosecuted.”